Abstract

Several studies of inter-firm accounting have shown how accounting and controls are
implicated in the management of supply chains. This consideration is relevant
because the supply chain network consists of firms whose activities transcend legal
boundaries, and accounting and controls may therefore help to manage the
complexities of supply chain processes. Much remains to be known about the
operation of accounting and controls and the consequences to supply chains. This
thesis reports on a field study of the uses of accounting and controls and their
relationship to management of supply chains in a multinational food manufacturer
and its network of customers (retailers and dealers). It aims to understand the ways in
which, for instance, open book accounting and performance measurement systems
were implicated in a network of supply chains. More specifically, it examines the
uses of accounting and controls in the everyday operations of managing supply
chains. To this end, the study draws on ethnographic materials collected through
interviews, observations and review of documents involving managerial and
operational employees from both the manufacturer as well as its customers. This
thesis draws on multiple theoretical perspectives to understand the dynamics and
complexities of supply chain management. These include theories of enabling and
coercive bureaucracies and control system and multiple cultural perspectives -
integration, differentiation and fragmentation - to supply chain identities. The thesis
sheds light on this area of study by providing three main findings. First, in contrast to
the notion of dichotomous enabling/coercive supply chain accounting, it has been
found that an enabling and coercive framework is useful in understanding the coexistence
of uses of supply chain accounting and controls; in addition, the study
demonstrates the implication of simultaneous presence of enabling and coercive
elements, where enabling supply chain accounting and controls can become
exploitative. Second, the intertwining of open book accounting practice with the role
of liaison in managing customers is explained. In particular, the enabling features
embedded in open book accounting allow the manufacturer to strengthen its
commitment to the inter-firm relationship. Finally, the study also illustrates the
manner in which accounting and control systems are implicated in supply chain
identity phenomena. The uses of supply chain accounting and controls symbolize
multiple identities. In contrast to previous studies of identity in inter-firm accounting,
where accounting has been shown as incidental, my study demonstrates that
accounting has assisted in articulating how identity phenomena are central to the
theoretical point; they have been used far more centrally to the explication of the key
supply chain process in the field.